BLACK-GOLD BLUES
All of US
IFF the prices of diesel keep rising the independent truckers will be put out of business. Every product will be affected & a depression could very likely ensue. Higher diesel prices could also lead US to martial law & FEMA taking over the operation.
This is going to be interesting to witness. The banksters, oil companies & the Federal Government would consolidate their power IFF this happened. Oil companies made more money in the 2nd period of 2000 than in the total year of 1999.
Why are prices going through the roof? Are the revenues collected by government fueling the so-called surplus? Is this redistribution of wealth? Is the excise tax placed on fuels a percentage or a flat tax? Anytime the government takes more money than it needs to operate the government it is called stealing.
You will know your enemies by their actions or lack of action!
If you are not part of the solution, you are the problem.
Take heed! Times are a changing!
More better later. Don't tread on ME so I can be free. Remember it all. I am what I am.
Katman
Truckers protest 'outrageous' diesel prices - Texas convoy heading toward L. A. in 'slow-moving lane'
by Jon E. Dougherty
A growing convoy of trucks, currently numbering about 150, is attempting to draw attention to the escalating price of diesel fuel & how those costs are hurting small, independent truckers, according to the Texas driver who initiated the demonstration in the hopes that lawmakers will do more to lower fuel prices.
"We're protesting outrageous prices on diesel fuel & the inability to charge rates high enough to pay for that fuel," said protest organizer Micah Lee. "People can't expect trucks to run at a loss for very long, because the economy depends on trucks to deliver cargo. This seems a nice, safe way to point out our problem without deliberately causing any harm. We're hurting out here."
Lee said the protest -- aimed primarily at small, independent drivers -- involves the formation of a convoy of tractor-trailer rigs to occupy the "slow-moving lane" of the Interstate I-20 in Texas. Driving at speeds of 45-50 miles per hour, Lee said as the convoy grew it would become more noticeable & hopefully begin to garner some attention from Washington, D.C.
The Texas Department of Transportation numbered the rigs at approximately 150 as of yesterday, when drivers reached Ft. Worth. The aim, say participants, is to take the convoy eventually all the way to Los Angeles.
Some drivers that had originally joined in the convoy had dropped out, Lee said, because they could no longer afford to drive their rigs empty. Every mile a truck is on the road without a load is a mile that costs drivers money, he noted.
The convoy was scheduled to pull into El Paso by Wednesday night, Lee said, "at 50 miles per hour".
"We are trying to act like professionals," Lee said, "but fuel prices have gone up 70% since March".
"[We] don't want the elderly to suffer without prescription medications or the goods that they need," he said, but without "involvement from the Feds", truckers could not look forward to stable prices in the near term.
Lee said truckers have asked Americans to call their Congressmen "& ask them to push for a suspension of the fuel tax, at least until the end of the year". He asked that if persons were willing to call, that they be polite but "do it before the election."
If nothing is done, Lee said he would consider taking a convoy to Washington, D.C., in October to press the truckers' case.
"Today's fuel prices for diesel is the straw that broke the camel's back," Lee said. "Multimillion dollar carriers have given no [hauling rate] increase in 10-12 years."
A leading trucking industry analyst said that in part, based on higher fuel prices, trucking traffic will decrease this year, but increase 3% to 3.5% a year between 2002-2005.
Peter Toja, President of Economic Planning Associates, said the growth would come from "further expansion of the [United States] economy, rapid growth in NAFTA trade & annual increases in total merchandise trade with the rest of the world".
Toja expected truck traffic to increase by just 2% in 2001 -- a figure that could be stunted if diesel fuel prices don't come down, other analysts said.
As of Monday, the national diesel fuel average price was $1.65 per gallon. A year ago it was $1.22; on Aug. 21 the price averaged $1.47, according to the U.S. Department of Energy, which said those prices included fuel taxes.
Meanwhile, trucker protests have rocked Europe for 2 weeks.
Europe was again plagued by protest blockades of fuel supplies & ports yesterday as the region's leaders squabbled with each other over price-relief measures & France called for talks between oil-consuming nations & the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to ease prices.
"Although the previous week's crippling trucker blockades of British fuel depots ended under a temporary truce & protests in Germany ebbed, last week saw a new round of price increases in world oil markets & fresh protests in Ireland, Spain, Israel & elsewhere," wrote John D. Boyd, news editor of Transport Topics.
As of July 31, 1999, there were more than 9.48 million commercial driver's licenses registered in the United States, according to the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators.
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